The Best Gas Logs Reviewed

With temperatures hitting their extreme lows, the cold winter season can be traumatizing. However, such misfortune can be mitigated by having the best gas logs. Gas logs are a great heating alternative to conventional fireplaces. This is because they are not only efficient, but also provide an automatic heating solution. As you will see in our gas logs reviews, these logs are also easy to maintain.

Some people are reserved when it comes to fireplaces heating their homes due to several hassles–cutting and splitting wood, keeping it dry, starting and maintaining a fire and the repeated feeding of the stove or fireplace. These drawbacks can be avoided by installing gas logs in your home. The logs are a clean source of heat and offer the convenience of constant heat supply. The ability to operate them with the help of a remote makes them even more convenient.

What is great about the gas logs?

A good number of people who install gas logs in their homes do so with heating as their primary objective. However, the logs bring other amazing attributes, which can be classified as secondary objectives. For example, the logs adopt unique and attractive designs. These designs go a long way in ensuring that the logs fit in the room’s décor. Whether the appliance in running or not, you can be sure of having a centerpiece that everyone will take a glance at. This feature is more pronounced in vented logs than ventless logs.

It is not always necessary that you have a chimney in your home to use the best gas logs. The gas logs reviews we have analyzed both vented and vent-free logs. This means that there is a group of logs that do not need a chimney. With the vented logs, you would need to have a chimney that aids in exhausting toxic carbon monoxide. This lowers the risks of CO poisoning. Vent-free logs, on the other hand, operate automatically. The American Gas Association-certified logs are equipped with oxygen depletion detectors. These are detectors that are able to detect when oxygen levels go below a certain percentage and shut off gas supply. Consequently, the logs will go off.

The decision to buy the best gas logs should be informed by the heat needed in your home. This should always be the case if the primary reason behind the purchase is heat supply. These logs are known to supply a lot of heat. The vented logs can give out up to 90,000 BTUs per hour while vent free logs can give up to 40,000 BTUs.

It is key to note that though the vented logs produce high amounts of heat, most of the heat is lost through the chimney. This would thus require you to have the dampers locked and clamped at all times.

The best gas logs offer you more than just fake logs. With fireplaces evolving along with homes, you definitely need a heat source that gives you instant startup and convenience, and involves no mess, no tending, no expensive wood and no municipal restrictions. These gas logs provide exactly that, and given that they are maintenance free, you can use them with some peace of mind. They have an efficiency range of 50-90%, making them much better than the conventional wood stoves that can have efficiency as low as 10%.

Benefits Of Using Gas Logs

While wood stoves can provide warm and welcoming atmospheres, they come with some drawbacks. Fortunately, the appliances featured in our gas logs reviews can be used to create a similar experience without the difficulties. These gas logs have many benefits, which include:

Convenience

Gas logs have gained popularity simply because they are convenient. These logs can give an instant heat supply, while wood stoves would need at least 30 minutes for a constant heat supply to be achieved. All that you need to do is turn a valve and your gas logs will be ready for use. Once the logs are up and running, your only concern will be the location of the remote. No refueling is needed and the heat can be controlled from the comfort of your cozy couch.

Sometimes, you may need to leave the house on short notice. This becomes problematic when using wood stoves. Just as they take time to start, these stoves also take time to cool down. You may not be willing to turn the stove off, which would leave you at the risk of stove fires. Unlike wood stoves that require constant tending, the best gas logs give you no reason to worry. They can be turned off at any time, making it possible for you to leave the house when needed.

Safety

A general concern among stove owners is the safety of their house and property. Before buying any stove or gas log, everyone wants to be guaranteed that they will be safe. Gas logs eliminate most of the safety concerns. With these logs, you do not need to worry about creosote formation or chimney fires. The logs do not produce any smoke. What you can expect is water vapor that can condense on the cooler sides of the appliance and on the glass.

Other than fire outbreaks, pest infestation can be another safety concern. This is common in homes where wood and pellets are used to provide heat. This is an issue that can sometimes go unnoticed but the consequences are dire. Stacking wood can serve as a good breeding ground for termites and rodents. These pests can be a disaster, especially if you have used a considerable amount of wood to build your house.

Environmental Friendly

Gas logs rank among the clean heating options in the fireplace market. These logs are known to produce green energy, which and emits no particulate matter to the atmosphere. Gas logs emissions are 35-40% lower when compared to gas fueled fireplaces. This is quite desirable, especially at this era when everyone is concerned about the impact their behaviors have on the environment. Gas logs provide a substantially low emission, making them a great heating option.

Cost

The cost of buying and running gas logs is considerably low. The cost of installing the appliance may not be as low as it would be to install a wood burning stove but you can be sure that the running and maintenance costs will be very low. Wood is the major hurdle when it comes to heating expenses. It takes up a lot of money, making it quite costly to run a wood burning stove. When using gas logs, these costs will come down significantly. Once you have purchased the gas cylinder, no more costs will be incurred. This makes it possible to save up to 40% of what could be used on wood to provide the same amount of heat.

Beautiful Appearance

Gas logs aren’t only meant for heating the room but also for boosting the room’s appearance. They are designed to fit in any home’s theme. When in operation, the logs give a thrilling display with the realistic flames dancing between the ceramic logs. The logs are artistically molded to bring out the appearance of real firewood. You may actually think that real firewood is used as the logs give glowing red embers, have knotholes, forked branches, natural bark patterns and ax marks. You can even choose the type of wood art that you desire. Whether you want to have birch, walnut, driftwood or oak, you just need to choose when making the purchase.

Choice Of Vent-Free Or Vented Logs

This is a benefit that you may not get to enjoy with other heating options. The availability of gas logs in vented and vent-free options opens up a wide range of logs to choose from. You can go for the vented logs that require a chimney or simply settle for the vent-free models that do not need any venting system. However, vent-free logs are not permitted in some regions in the U.S and this can limit your options.

When choosing between vented and vent-free logs, you need to know about their heat production. Vented gas logs produce more heat but 90% of the heat is lost through the chimney. With vent-free logs, all the heat is released to the room. In the end, you may realize that the vent free gas logs are providing more heat than their vented big brothers.

Different Types Of Gas Logs Featured In Our Gas Logs Reviews

Vented Gas Logs

Vented gas logs simply mean logs that require a chimney. This chimney plays the vital role of removing gas fumes produced during the logs’ operations. These logs are very popular especially due to their large flames. These flames give a realistic pattern that can easily be mistaken for the conventional stove flame. The reason behind the huge stove is the venting that makes it possible to burn more gas and produce more BTUs.

These logs are installed in a wood-burning-like fireplace in a bid to incorporate all the necessary venting requirements. With such a fireplace, air flows freely, thus ensuring that the logs achieve the desired combustion. With insufficient air supply, combustion would be incomplete, and this may result in production of poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide.

During the stove’s operations, you need to keep the damper wide open. As you will see in our gas log reviews, these logs are designed to take in combustion air from the environment. Closing the damper would thus hinder air flow into the logs. You do need to keep a keen eye as the chimney also brings in draft which may affect how the stove runs. Customize the stove’s operations to fit your home and heating needs.

Vent-Free Gas Logs

As the name suggests, vent-free gas logs do not need any venting system. This means that you do not need to have a chimney to install them in your home. They are renowned for lowering heating costs in two ways:

They use half the fuel compared to conventional vented gas logs.

They operate with the damper closed thus not sending the heat up the chimney as vented logs do.

The fact that vent-free gas logs distribute all the heat produced into the room makes them very efficient. They burn with an efficiency of up to 99.9%. This means that you will be getting value for every coin that you spend. As a result, you can heat a large room at a very low cost.

Vent-free logs come in different styles and designs. These modern logs can be found as ceramic logs or concrete refractory. The two types of logs are different not only in appearance, but also in operation. With the ceramic logs, you can expect them to glow after 15 minutes of use. When this happens, they will give out a realistic burn. On the other hand, concrete refractory logs do not glow at all. This means that you shouldn’t expect to see the realistic embers with these logs. This can be a drawback for those who want to get the logs to add to the room’s décor. However, this can be said to be balanced by the logs’ durability and intricate detail.

Factors To Consider When Buying The Best Gas Logs

Size Of Your Room

For you to achieve the desired heat in your room, you need to be sure that you are getting the right log for your house size. If you do not know how to size the fireplace where you will be placing the gas logs, here are some guidelines. Measure the front width and depth of the existing fireplace. Note that you can only use the logs that meet the minimum dimensions of your fireplace. Getting a larger log would mean restructuring the fireplace, which can be costly.

You need to be especially careful with prefabricated fireplaces. Typically, you may need a 36” fireplace for a gas log measuring 24”. You therefore need to be keen on detail and evaluate each case individually.

Efficiency Ratings

Before buying any gas logs, ask about their efficiency. Though different methods have been used to measure logs’ efficiency, it’s better to have a figure in mind than to make the purchase blindly. What you need to know is that the logs’ efficiency will be lower once installed in your home. This means that though the stove may be rated at 60,000 BTUs, it may never get to this level in actual use.

Input And Output Ratings

The gas logs’ input rating is the amount of energy consumed in an hour. The output rating, on the other hand, is the amount of heat supplied to the house. Both ratings will be expressed in BTUs/hour and the difference between the two should be noted. Contrary to what many people think, high input ratings do not guarantee high heat output. This is because the logs’ heat output depends on logs efficiency. This means that logs with high efficiency ratings will burn less gas in order to supply the same amount of heat compared to low efficiency logs. For instance, a 30,000 BTU/hour log with 80% efficiency will provide the same amounts of heat as a 60,000 BTU/hour log with 40% efficiency. While doing so, the 30,000 BTU/hour log will use half the fuel used by the 60,000BTU/hour log.

Variable Controls And Thermostats

Choosing the best gas logs based on the availability or absence of variable setting controls or thermostats is now a common trend. Gone are the days when you would need to wake up every time you need to change a setting in your gas logs. The variable-setting control allows you to adjust the logs’ heat output. This is done by regulating the input BTUs. The feature may be referred to as the “turndown” feature and goes a long way in improving the stove’s convenience.

Most of the appliances in the market come with automatic thermostats. The thermostat plays the crucial role of adjusting the firing rate. This is quite important as it ensures that the room doesn’t get too hot or extremely cold. It therefore ensures constant heat supply and cuts down on energy consumption. However, you may need to be careful with this feature if your log has only one setting. This would mean turning the logs on and off which may affect the enjoyment of the beautiful flames.

Continuous Pilot Lights Vs Electronic Or Intermittent Ignition

In most logs, a pilot light, which is basically a small gas flame, ignites the unit. This flame can consume up to 600 BTUs per hour and this is why it is turned off when the logs are not in use. There is also a group of gas logs that uses intermittent or electronic ignition. This mode avoids having a continuous plot and one is needed to restart the gas combustion every time a flame is needed. It is advisable that you go for the logs without a continuous pilot, which would save you up to 600 BTUs per hour.

Heat Exchange And Transfer

The best gas logs are determined by comparing their heat exchange capabilities. Normally, the heat produced will be transferred into the house through convection and radiation. With radiation, the heat is transferred from flames to solid objects, such as people, walls and furniture. It is the radiated heat that makes people feel warm even when they may be surrounded by cold air. Convection, on the other hand, is the heating of air around the logs. This air is then redistributed, making the whole house feels warm. Some logs may even come with a heat exchanger. Its main function is extracting combustion gases and transferring them into the house. This makes the logs more efficient than those that do not have the feature.

You choice for the best gas logs should be well-informed. This is an appliance that will cost you a considerable amount of money. You therefore need to be sure that what you are buying will give you value for money. Go through our gas logs reviews to know which logs will serve you best.